Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Five Impossible Things

One of the ways that we limit ourselves is by thinking about only what is possible! We rely on our own knowledge, our family of origin, our culture and our personal experience to decide what is possible. In doing this we keep our thoughts within a small range of possibility. We may use our imagination for our entertainment, but nothing more. In our old way of thinking, impossible things are a waste of time. Thinking of impossible things is for children. Thinking of impossible things may lead to disappointment!

So what is your life like, staying within the realm of possibility? Are you having fun? Has anything new or exciting happened in your life in the last ten years? Would you want to create the possibility of impossibility? Oh, that is scary, isn’t it? Becoming open to impossibility would be like opening a door to a dark passage that leads to the unknown. It could be dangerous there! If you enter you might never come back! Or if you go down that path, you might return as someone entirely different! See what our thoughts do to us?

In the classic story, Alice in Wonderland, Alice has a conversation with the Red Queen. The Red Queen tells Alice something to which Alice replies “That is impossible!” The Red Queen responds that she always thinks of 5 impossible things before breakfast! The Red Queen was an expansive thinker! She exercised her mind each morning by thinking of 5 impossible things before breakfast!

A seemingly magic thing begins to happen when we expand our thinking to impossible things! We have seen it demonstrated just this week as our nation inaugurated a new president. A common response of those interviewed after witnessing this historic event was one of overwhelming emotion. More than once I heard an adult say, with tears in their eyes, “Now I know that it is possible for my son or daughter to be anything they want to be.” This has always been the truth. But this year and this week millions of people have experienced first hand the transforming thought that the impossible (as it had been in their mind) was suddenly possible.

What can occur when a generation of people begins to see the impossible become possible? Many exciting things! We may be experiencing a time of trouble and crisis in our nation, but we are also on the brink of a very exciting time of opportunity and possibility!

Exercise in Expansive Thinking - At least one morning this week take 10 minutes to write down your own list of 5 Impossible Things!

I have learned that in making this list I begin to sow seeds into the Universe for even the Impossible to happen. And I begin to live expectantly. As a result I begin to live as if those Impossible Things are not so impossible at all. The Universe is composed of millions of things that are impossible in one way of thinking. But there was a way of thinking that allowed the Universe and everything in it to become reality. And you and I have access to that powerful thinking!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Your Thoughts are Like Seeds


I trust you have been recognizing the power of your thoughts. If so, you are learning how important it is to be aware of what you are thinking. Your thoughts are the architect of your outer life. They determine everything! Our thoughts are like seeds. When you plant bean seeds in your garden what do you expect to grow? Not corn! You expect bean seeds because that is what you planted!

I see thoughts as seeds, planted into the Universe. Once the seeds are planted I wait for the evidence of the seeds I have planted, the crop of my thoughts. Many times I plant certain thoughts into the Universe and I see a different crop than I wanted! How can this happen? Well, most likely I have planted bean seed when I wanted tomatoes. And this makes me very unhappy! I say things like “This is not fair! I planned on having tomatoes when I planted that bean seed.” But the Universe is consistent. When I plant bean seeds it makes sure I get beans!

How can I translate this idea to my thought life? Here is an example. I have a need to get a job so I begin to think about what kind of job I want. Very quickly my unconscious thoughts take over, telling me what kind of job I would be able to get. My old thoughts start ruling out a lot of possibilities. There are thoughts that say “You’re too old to expect to have much choice.” Or “Your job experience is really lacking in that area…don’t even try!” Almost immediately the possible job list gets really short and the thought I cast out into the Universe is something like this. “Well, I know there is not much chance of me getting a very good job, so I’ll just settle for whatever I can find!”

Secretly, I hope for much more than that, but I have sown the seed of “I’ll settle…”and soon enough some possibilities appear. I have taken action on that belief and gone to apply at the places that will employ anyone that is breathing! And I get an offer! Am I happy about that? No! I am incensed! This job is bare minimum and pays that, too! “I am better than this!” I say. “I can’t believe that there are not more jobs out there that I would enjoy doing and pay better!” And so I become a victim of my thoughts, my actions and the results. I have sown seed into the Universe and I have the crop.

With this knowledge and understanding I can begin to have influence over my results by sowing the seeds for the crop I really want. But in sowing the seed I set myself some new challenges. Let’s say that I sow the seed of making more money than I ever have before. In order to do this, I find that I will have more responsibility than I have ever had. I will probably be managing other people. This makes me uncomfortable, because I don’t like to make people unhappy, and as a manager I would be the one to ask them to do jobs they don’t want to do, etc. They probably won’t like me! I want to be liked! These are my old thoughts pushing back in to control my decision.

There will be many times in sowing new seed when we will be making courageous decisions. We will be in uncharted territory. We will be sowing seed for watermelons! And we will be finding what it takes to grow watermelons! Heat, moisture, and time! Sowing new seed is necessary work for becoming the new person you want to become.
When you harvest the crop, you’ll know that your persistence was worth it. It also makes it somewhat easier to sow more new seed, for growth of this kind requires that new seed be sown regularly, until it becomes as “routine” as your old cycle of thinking. The difference in this new thinking is that you have made a choice about your thoughts and taken action on that choice. You know what you are thinking and why. And you know what results to expect. You are certainly gardeners of the soul!

Next blog: 5 Impossible Things!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Your Thoughts Have Power!

It’s really exciting to know that you understand the concept of NOW vs. some time in the future as you write and speak your Gratitude statements! It is amazing to experience the power of one word…NOW…as we open ourselves to possibilities that are unleashed by speaking it! Just as words have power, the thoughts that precede words have immense power, too! You spend a lot of time thinking throughout a normal day. But if you were asked to write down what you have been thinking, you would be hard pressed to do so. This is because most of our thinking takes place in the unconscious area of our minds. It is like a program running on our computer. The computer is running the program without us really thinking about it or noticing it. It is just there…of course! But those unconcscious thoughts have the power to control what we say and what we do. And in turn what we say and do has the power to create the results we live with every day.

What we would want then is to learn how to have the thoughts that will get us where and what we want! In order to do this we must first learn what thoughts we have been having that we are unaware of. They run in cycles in our mind and don’t usually turn themselves off. One way to learn what thoughts are there is to begin writing them down. At first this is a difficult task. It requires some patience and persistence. Writing for 10 minutes each day will allow this process to begin. Writing without making judgments about the writing, the thoughts or yourself is really important, too. Let the words come to the page without punctuating, spelling or making definite paragraphs. Your high school English teacher will not be reading this! Honesty about your thoughts is perhaps the more difficult part. But it is important. I said to not make judgments about what you are writing. Perhaps you can write it as a news reporter would…just getting the thoughts and words down without having any emotion about them.

Of course what you will find is that there is emotion attached to your unconscious thoughts. And that is why the thoughts have been so strong in shaping your outer life! In this discovery writing emotions will be uncovered that you had forgotten. Allow them to be there but don’t let them take over. This discovery writing is designed to empty your mind of old thoughts and make room for the new thoughts that you choose.

It is important to not only focus on what the old thoughts are. Ten minutes a day is enough. You need to give equal time to the new thoughts and ideas that you are choosing, to create the life that you have dreamed of. The gratitude statements are a good start. But there are more exercises that will allow for more expansive thinking.

The exercises for Expansive Thinking are like the exercises that you do for muscle strength and flexibility. What you want to create are thoughts that you are aware of and have chosen. Most of the thoughts in your unconscious were put there as you were developing. Some have been there since childhood. Most of us don’t lay our thoughts out every once in awhile and say, “Now, do I really think or believe this?”

Beginning the Expansive thinking exercises will be like going through your closet and looking at all of the clothes there. What have you worn? What has been stuck back in a dark corner for years? Why are you keeping this? Are these the clothes that the person you are becoming would wear?

The Expansive Thinking exercises will help you do this with your thoughts! Are you becoming aware of thoughts and ideas that came from your family of origin perhaps? Are you discovering thoughts that might have once been important to keep you safe but are now restrictive? Are your thoughts about yourself accurate for the person you are becoming?

Next blog: Your Thoughts are Like Seeds

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

My favorite tool from the basket!

Thanks for the encouraging comments you have been sending my way. My biggest personal task is to remain positive in my attitude. I know many of you struggle with that very thing! To remain positive and then press on to being expansive in our thinking is what will break us away from the crowd and allow us to become expectant and hopeful.

I want to continue to expand on the idea of “I am so happy and grateful” in this blog. I shared in the preceding blog about this most important “tool”. I want to break it down a bit for better understanding and for its most effective use.

The statement “I am so happy and grateful now that I have…” seems simple enough. But let’s look at the specific words and their importance. The key gratitude statement that I write and speak each day is “I am so happy and grateful now that I have a strong healthy body that heals itself quickly.” The use of the word ‘now’ is very critical. It says that I’m experiencing this benefit in this moment rather than some time in the future!

If I have a headache I could say, “Well, I can’t write this today, because it’s not true for me at this moment.” But I have learned that it’s important for me to write and say it especially when I am not feeling well. I make the statement and at the same time I make choices in speeding my recovery such as massaging my temples, taking a nap or maybe taking an aspirin. I participate in the Truth of the statement and it becomes my reality. So today, I might have a strong healthy body that is experiencing a headache. I will accept the strong healthy body that heals itself quickly. I make this choice “now’. My statement helps me change my attitude and my actions to make this a true statement in this moment.

The words ‘I have’ are important as well. They are a formal claim. If I state that ‘I have’ a strong healthy body that heals itself quickly I have stated that these aspects are mine. I won this body. I will not hesitate to own this gift of a strong healthy body. I will claim it and offer my gratitude. ‘I have’ is a strong statement of ownership and gratitude.

When I first used this tool I was only willing to claim the strong, healthy body, and I ended my statement there. I was actually experiencing some health problems at the time and at some point I realized this was a static view of myself. I wanted something dynamic, with the possibility of change. I also knew I wanted my Creator’s participation in the constant healing and health of my body. So I added the words “that heals itself quickly”. This gave a new power to the statement. I now claim a body that renews itself, remakes itself, and heals itself. I see myself as a part of the unfolding of God’s continuing creation. I am acknowledging and being grateful with this statement every day.

And so in the writing of these statements my understanding of prayer has changed too. Where I once begged and pleaded, I now focus on being happy and grateful. When I begin to feel sorry for myself or feel afraid, I rush to the words of “I am so happy and grateful now that I have”. If it’s a really bad day, I write a page of these. I repeat them often.
“I am so happy and grateful now that I have a strong healthy body that heals itself quickly” is the statement that I always begin with in my daily writing. I am working on adding a new constant statement regarding finances, one of my favorite worries. I’ll let you know how that goes!

Well, I am happy and grateful for your attention to this blog! I’ll be interested in knowing how your use of the gratitude page and “I’m so happy and grateful now that…” makes a difference in your life!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

This blog is a new venture for me...one of the challenges I have set for myself in this new and promising year of 2009. I hear the gloomy forecast for this year from so many. But I choose not to be affected by the negative press. I am looking forward to this year as a bearer of many opportunities and possibilities. As I contribute to this blog I will be sharing some of the 'tools' that I have been employing in 2008! Last year I made some significant changes in my life. I became accountable in a new and powerful way. I began by being grateful for who I am and what I have. In the past I had focused much of my energy on what I did not have! This last year I began counting the fullness rather than the emptiness of my life.

The greatest tool that I discovered is "I am so happy and grateful..." which is a silent mantra that I speak many times a day. I also write a daily page of gratitude. This simple task changes my attitude from discouraged and despairing to grateful and expectant. I begin with '"I am so happy and grateful now that I have a strong healthy body that heals itself quickly. This has carried me to health and healing. I have acknowledged my Creator's participation in my life. Rather than asking for what i want i have learned to give thanks for what is! I am more of a 'creatura' than I have ever been, for I see my part in this relationship with the Creator in a new way. When I am aware of the wonders of my life, I am allowed to see more wonders, and almost as soon as I see them they become reality. It is like living a life of miraculous events!

If we could all become prone to gratefulness what a different world this would be. We would be fighting each other to be generous! And we would all likely benefit greatly. To go about spreading gratefulness is no small thing! And so I encourage you to visit with me often to check out the tools for living significantly and abundantly in 2009. Don't expose yourself to the negative messages that are so easily found! Tune in here to learn more tools for abundant living!